Friday, June 30, 2006

that old trope

What am I, some kind of obscurist trendy or something? Yes, of course, and that is why I am back on my 'I want to learn Korean' kick. This follows from an accidental visit to the Korean grocery in Elizabeth st. Here are the pros and cons:

pros:

I am fascinated by Korea, Koreans and the Korean languageLearning is a good thing

cons:

It will be hardIt has no practical purpose, that I can see at this pointIt will cost moneyIt might take me away from other things I can do better

I can't think of anything else but I just took my vitamin pill so I may come back and revise.

I've heard it's a lot easier to learn than other Asian languages, because it's a relatively modern -- and constructed -- language. Invented by King Sejong around the same time that Gutenburg invented moveable type, the Korean alphabet has under thirty basic characters, like our alphabet.

I don't speak or read it, but I became fascinated by it when I visited Seoul a couple of years ago. So go nuts, I reckon. There's worse things to do with your time.